In Conversation with Lesley Visser

Jessica Mendoza

Jessica Mendoza is one of those people who make you want to, as Vin Scully says, "pull up a chair." Throw out a topic, and she's there. Olympic softball? Mendoza won a Go

Val Ackerman

As an attorney, Val Ackerman can usually see both sides. But not on this topic. With bona fides that include an early Title IX basketball scholarship to Virginia, a law d

Julie Foudy

There was a time that the USWNT won a World Cup and no one really knew about it. Iconic former midfielder Julie Foudy said she came home from the US win in China in 1991

Dominique Dawes

Dominique Dawes once felt so controlled by her coach, Kelli Hill, that she said Hill terrified her into silence by threatening to send Dominique to "the Karolyi Ranch," t

Cheryl Miller

She might be the greatest women’s basketball player of all time. Yes. If you’ve ever wondered how dominant Cheryl Miller was, consider this - she still holds six records

Sarah Talalay

Sports diplomacy is nothing new - back in 776 BC in ancient Greece, there was an "Olympic Truce" to ensure there'd be no battles or conflicts during the games. In the 280

Eric Stonestreet

The only person two-time Emmy award-winning, beloved actor Eric Stonestreet never got to meet was the late John Madden. They would have been great friends. In fact, Kansa

Molly Bloom

Yes, she had a Italian mobster put a gun to her head. Yes, the buy-in for her underground high-stakes poker game, where regulars included Ben Afleck and Toby Maguire, was

Kevin Willard

He said of course he's going to take recruits to the Willard Hotel. No, Kevin Willard, the new coach at the University of Maryland, has no connection to the 150-year old

Keith Hernandez

By all accounts, Buck Showalter made all the right moves this year, including inviting Mets icon Keith Hernandez to hang around the batting cage in spring training. What,

Cal Ripken Jr

He was the everyday player’s Everyday Player. And on September 6, 1995, with President Clinton and now President Biden watching in Camden Yards, Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Lou

Bruce Pearl

Bruce Pearl’s first interview with Auburn was a calamity. He’d been out of coaching for three years, the result of an NCAA investigation that deemed him ultimately respon

Bill Walton - Part 2

Bill Walton and Lesley still disagree. After watching him play in college and covering him in the NBA, Lesley got to work with him for about five years when Bill, Dick En

Bill Walton - Part 1

Bill Walton said the Celtics saved his life. He was a kid from La Mesa, California, who didn't have a TV at home, but would catch Celtics games wherever he could. It was

Jason Clarke

It might seem a stretch to think that actor Jason Clarke, the son of a sheep-shearer in the Australian outback, could play the iconic legend Jerry West, but Clarke got a

Jim Larrañaga

At 72-years old, Jim Larranaga is a kid coach in the ACC. Jim Boeheim is 77, Mike Krzyzewski is 75, even Leonard Hamilton is 73. But there's an excellent chance that Larr

Gary Williams

Twenty years ago, when Maryland beat Indiana for the National Championship, it was one of the happiest scenes in the history of college basketball. Maryland fans had been

Robert Parrish

If you followed the epic battles between the Lakers and the Celtics in the 1980's, didn't you always wonder if Robert Parish (the "Chief") ever talked to Laker fan Jack N

Amy Trask

About six years ago, Lesley wrote a column for CBS saying that it was time to put Amy Trask in the Hall of Fame. As we head into Super Bowl LVI, she feels even more stron

Tara Lipinski

She was born in Philadelphia, lived in New Jersey and Sugar Land, Texas. At the age of 14, Tara Lipinski won the World Figure Skating Championships, beating her fierce ri